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In my first year of medical school we received 8 weeks of training on the heart. The analogy offered by the professor was the heart as a mechanical pump that pushes blood through the body; there were

chambers, valves, and an electrical system all working together to pump oxygen-filled blood to the body’s tissues. We learned that the heart is the most complex muscle in the body because it has the ability to beat

even when the brain and central nervous system have been completely shut down. I was really intrigued but not given any tools with which to change a sick heart into a healthy heart.

In my second year of medical school, we learned about the drugs that can affect the heart, from medications that slow the heartbeat – called beta-blockers – to medications that reduce the amount of fluid the

heart has to pump – called diuretics. Then there were surgeries that could repair blockages caused by cholesterol and other fatty deposits; the arteries could have a stent inserted, or an artery could be removed

and replaced by a vein in the leg. All of these strong therapies, drugs, and surgeries seemed like amazing options and great ways to fix the problem. But why didn’t they help my Grandpa?

Then came my third year, when I finally got to learn how to help people naturally! I was introduced to supplements like coenzyme Q10 – a super-antioxidant – and a supplement containing natural nitric oxide

inducers, thereby helping to decrease inflammation in the vessels and dilate them to increase blood flow. These were all decent options, I thought, but what was the real reason that my grandfather kept having

heart attacks? I needed to go back to my first year of schooling to better understand the physiology of the heart and the importance of blood flow. That’s when I heard about Andrew Fletcher.

MY OWN EXPERIENCE

After being inspired by Mr Fletcher, I inclined my own bed about 1 year ago, and attempted to document the changes that I experienced in my body. Like almost every naturopathic doctor I know, I was a little overzealous and inclined my queen-sized bed to 7.5… well, closer to 8 inches. I recommend starting at less than 4 inches and slowly increasing the incline as you see fit, to achieve the 5-degree tilt. My first night was like being on a “slip and slide” in the middle of the summer, except that there wasn’t a smile on my face the next morning. I ended up with some neck pain, as well as a kink in my lower back, which already has disc herniations. Once I lowered the tilt of my bed to the recommended 6 inches, I experienced headaches and increased muscle soreness for 10 days, which then subsided. My benefits afterwards included decreased muscle soreness and pain (including my back), increased alertness on waking, and a notable decrease in awakenings in the middle of the night. I also experienced a consistent need to urinate a large amount in the morning, which suggested that my kidneys were filtering much more during the night. I have also noticed that sleeping on a flat bed is very uncomfortable now; I wake up feeling almost ill after a few days of this. I am never going back to sleeping on a flat mattress.

I might not have been able to change my grandfather’s heart from a sick heart into a healthy heart, but now I know there are natural ways in which we can benefit the heart and take stress off of it so that it can work longer and better. One of those ways is by inclining one’s bed.

How does gravity assist the passage of food through the digestive system?

Our entire digestive tract is composed of a single tube running from our mouth to anus. Note that the large intestine resembles a siphon, with the anus being lower in relation to gravity when we are upright and that the small intestine provides positive pressure from the downward flowing stomach contents.

Think about this for a moment. Our intestines consist of a single tube that is compacted and aranged inside our abdomen. When we are sleeping flat, we "almost" cancel out the influence by gravity and how it acts upon our meals and drinks on it's journey through our body, although as we rotate in a flat bed we do make some use of gravity, which undoubtedly helps to move food, albeit more slowly.

When we are inclined in bed, no matter which position we sleep in, gravity is positively acting upon the digestive system by helping to move food more quickly, which helps to prevent constipation and diarrhoea and avoid scybala (Hardened masses of faeces) from causing a blockage in the colon.

IBT has been successful in arresting acute diarrhoea in patients at the end of life with AIDS!

It's not difficult to see how avoiding sleeping for too long in one position and rotating in bed, would accomodate the passage of waste food more effectively in both flat and inclined bed rest.

Keeping food moving is important and more easily accomplished with activity-as we change our posture. This undoubtedly helps our food to navigate the bends in the intestines and bowel. When we are in an inclined bed, bowel movements tend to occur shortly after getting up in the morning and become more regular. This is great news for the lining of the digestive tract, because it is helping to prevent the stagnation and overburden of our intestines with bacteria and decaying, poorly-digested food.

I suspect that bowel cancer may in part, be a complication of a compromised digestive system and it’s reduced movement of foods, when sleeping horizontally and could be helped by avoiding flat bed rest.

Swansea University.

Gastrointestinal system Bedrest is often associated with a reduced sense of taste, smell and a loss of appetite (Rousseau, 1993; Bortz, 1984).

The resulting drop in food intake leads to progressive disuse of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This can have a major impact on gut structure and function, including atrophy of the mucosal lining and shrinkage of glandular structures (Bortz, 1984).

Swallowing is more difficult for people confined to bed and it has been shown that non-viscous substances pass through the oesophagus more slowly when the body is supine (Kaplan, 2005). It also takes longer for food to pass through the stomach – 66% more slowly in recumbent patients than in upright ones (Thomas et al, 2002).

Increased transit times slow the movement of faeces through the colon and rectum, increasing water reabsorption. As a result, stools progressively harden causing constipation, a common problem in patients confined to bed. Constipation is often associated with faecal impaction, which, if severe, may need mechanical intervention for removal. In an upright person, gravity causes stools within the rectum to exert pressure on the anal sphincter, but this effect of gravity is negated in supine patients, reducing the urge to defecate.

The problem of constipation is particularly troublesome in patients confined to bed receiving opioid-based pain relief medications. Drugs such as morphine dramatically slow down gut motility (Jordan, 2008), exacerbating the effects of immobility.

If constipation becomes chronic, the build-up of faecal material can exert significant pressure on the wall of the colon, increasing the chance of diverticuli (Bortz, 1984).

The risk of constipation can be reduced by ensuring that patients get enough dietary fibre, which should help to speed up gut transit times. Patients should also be encouraged to take regular drinks of fresh water, which will be soaked up by fibre within the gut, increasing faecal bulk and softening the stools.

During bedrest, gastric bicarbonate secretion may also decrease (Kaplan, 2005), increasing acidity within the stomach. When patients are in the supine position, these gastric secretions can collect and press against the lower oesophageal (cardiac) sphincter, causing irritation. Patients confined to bed can experience symptoms associated with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), such as regurgitation and heartburn. This can be alleviated by using pillows to prop them up after a meal.

This position also encourages the gastric juices to collect in the lower portion of the stomach, reducing the risk of reflux.

Antacid medications can also be given to relieve the sensation of heartburn."

The Gravity Of Life Theory

by Andrew K Fletcher

Introduction

All life on earth developed with one thing in common, the Earth! The constant forces are gravity, and the energy from the sun. The most abundant resources are minerals and water.

The ocean currents are driven by gravity, acting upon density changes that occur where evaporation and cooling by wind around Iceland causes sea surface water to become denser. This creates a powerful downflow as dense sea water plumets to the ocean floor at an estimated rate of five billion gallons a second. In doing so, it generates a return flow, pulling warmer less dense water up from the equator, driving a massive underwater river bigger than all the rivers in the world put together, This is also known as the Gulf Stream. This flow and return system, according to diffusion should dispurse and yet it does not mix with the surrouding ocean. Video After The Warming by James Bourke, explaining The Atlantic Conveyor Ocean Currents Driven By Gravity

At the bottom of the ocean, brine pools and lakes have been discovered, where a dense saline solution accumulates. Again, diffusion plays no role in dispersing these lakes, which also have outlets, showing clearly how density differences drive underwater rivers and streams, where brine lakes and ponds overflow to produce under water streams and rivers. This closely relates to a transparent circulation not unlike the flow of sap in trees and the flow of fluids in our bodies.Brine ponds on the ocean floor empty, showing clearly how sea water with different densities, behaves independently.

Plants and animals alike, all depend on the properties of water for transporting minerals and nutrients. All life on Earth is based upon water, life must have evolved by finding the easiest and most direct pathway! Liquids are very good at finding the most direct route possible.

Yet, at first glance, everywhere one looks life appears to have chosen the least likely of paths, if trees and plants are trying to overcome the effects of gravity, why would trees, with species like the giant Californian redwoods (sequoia sempervirens), towering over a hundred metres high have chosen a vertical direction?

How have plants and animals harnessed the constant pull of gravity in order to thrive and grow?

On a summer day a large oak tree may take up a hundred gallons of water or more, enriched with minerals and nutrients from the soil. At first glance it is doing so against the pull of gravity, producing flow rates, which cannot be explained or shown by working models based on osmosis, capillary action or root pressure, or indeed by the Cohesion Tension theory. So how are trees ble to do this without any need for a pump?

Explanation

Over 95% of the waters drawn in at the roots of a tree evaporate into the surrounding air through the leaves by transpiration. The evaporated moisture contains no minerals. However, the water remaining inside the tree contains a variety of mineral salts dissolved from the soil, together with sugars produced by the tree by photosynthysis. The transpired water must result in a concentration of salts and sugars within the leaves. Concentrating a liquid, (sap), which contains substances that are heavier than water, must result in the production of a heavier solution than the pre-transpired liquid.

Because of the resulting imbalance in density the heavier solution is drawn towards the base of the tree, due to the effect of gravity (maple syrup, latex and amber are evidence for this). Downward flowing sap occurs predominantly within the phloem vessels. When an excess of concentrated liquid is produced during favourable weather conditions, the downward flowing sap forms new tubes from the cambium, as it is forced down by gravity, in a continual cycle of growth.

In hard woods, sap flows from cell to cell through openings or perforations, in the membrane between abutting vessels.

In soft-woods, the sap flow controls movable valves, or pits - (thin areas), in the walls of conducting tracheids. Concentrated pulses of sap may eventually be found to be present in some xylem vessels, as gravity inevitably finds the most direct route, with the least resistance, to the ground.

But for every action there must always be a reaction, and the reaction in this case is that the downward flowing liquid behaves exactly like a plunger in a syringe. As it flows down it causes the entire contents of connected tubes filled with the less dense liquid to be drawn up.

Here we have a simple power source, which is driven purely by evaporation, posture and gravity.

The forces produced by this phenomenon are easy to demonstrate in simple tubular experiments. The main forces are produced at the head and tail of the falling solutions. The head produces a positive force, or pressure, and the tail produces a negative pressure. I believe that the positive force within the mineral laden sap is responsible for the formation of the tubular structures found in timber. The positive force prevents tubes from closing.

As more sap flows through the same pathways, some of the sap is used to strengthen the tubes which will eventually become strong enough to resist the negative pressures. The tree transports the dilute solution of water and minerals to the leaves using these tubes. Thereafter becoming what we call the xylem vessels.

As the concentrated liquid falls towards the ground, minerals are locked away as timber, while the mineral laden liquid arriving at the roots is inevitably re-diluted by the dilute solution drawn from the soil. The imbalance in the liquid is corrected as it becomes lighter or less dense than the downward flowing sap and begins its journey back to the leaves, where the process continues, providing the tree with a constant supply of water and nutrients.

In the autumn, when the leaves have fallen, the circulation is altered as a greater positive pressure is exerted towards the roots, because transpiration has ceased and therefore fluids flowing towards the top of the tree would be compromised. At this time of the year root growth would be most productive.

As fluid channels begin to offer resistance, the sap must find alternative routes. The new directions may be vertical or horizontal, but always in the path of least resistance. Eventually tubes become redundant and new tubes are formed. Fluids of different specific gravity have been observed to flow in both directions, simultaneously while in the same tube. In fact this ‘transpiring gravitational flow system’ is able to operate without tubes and has been attributed to causing the oceans to circulate (Atlantic conveyor system).

Early attempts at lifting water

The story goes that the reigning Grand Duke of Tuscany had ordered a well to be dug to supply the ducal palace with water. The workmen came upon water at a depth of 40 feet, and the next step was to pump it up. A vacuum lift pump was erected over the well, and a pipe let down to the water, but the water was found to rise to a height of 33 feet and no more, in spite of the most careful overhauling of the pump mechanism. It was at this stage that Galileo was consulted. While the famous philosopher was unable to offer a solution, he at least indicated the problem. Here above the 33 feet of water was seven feet of vacuum. The limit for raising water by suction in a tube appeared to be thirty-three feet.

Why should there be this limit when trees are observed to ignore it?

By introducing a loop of tubing, instead of a single tube, to simulate the internal structure of plants and trees, and suspending it by the centre, the problem of raising water above the 33 feet limit is solved. The reason a loop of tubing succeeds where a single tube fails is because the cohesive bond of water molecules is far stronger than the adhesive qualities of water observed in Galileo’s lift-pump problem. Using a loop of tubing enables water molecules to bond to each other in an unbroken chain. It helps to picture the unbroken loop of water as a cord instead of a liquid, supported by a pulley in the centre with tension applied to both ends.

The columns of water held in both sides of the tube exert a downward force due to the weight of the water contained in the tube. This force causes the water molecules in the tube to be stretched, causing the water to behave like an elastic band. In order to demonstrate this affect on water molecules I repeated the experiment shown in figure 1 without the added saline solution, the two open ends of the tube at ground level were removed from the demijohns, exposing them to the air.

Though the tube contained water, it did not flow from either side of the tube. In fact the opposite effect was observed; the water level in both sides of the tube immediately rose to a new level about half a metre from the ends of the tube. Even more surprising the water columns stayed there suspended by the cohesion between the water molecules.

In order to try to upset the balance I then blew up one side of the tube, causing the water level on that side to rise. I then released the pressure and the water returned to the same equal level. This observation offers an exciting explanation to the problem of explaining why water does not pour from the wound when a tree is felled.

However, the present laws of physics state that water cannot exist in its liquid form below 4.6 torr, yet the water remains in the tube. Only when the tube is lowered, or if a bubble appears at the top of the loop of tubing does the water flow out from the open ends.

THE BRIXHAM CLIFF EXPERIMENT

This experiment successfully demonstrated fluid transport to a height, which exceeds the current accepted limit of 10 metres and how this applies to the way that trees draw water to their leaves.

APPARATUS

48 metre single length of clear nylon tubing, 6.35 mm inside diameter x 9.5 mm outside diameter (type used to draw ales in the brewery trade), two clear glass demijohns, a large tray, 50 mils of concentrated salt solution with added red food dye, 50ml syringe minus the needle, sufficient degassed or previously boiled and cooled water to fill the tubing, the demijohns, and for adequate top ups. Adequate nylon cord to hoist the tubing and pulley to the desired height, a small pulley and adhesive cello-tape.

Method

The two demijohns were filled to the brim with the water and placed in a suitable tray to catch any displaced water. The length of tubing was half filled with the water by siphoning. This was achieved by submerging one end of the tube in the water filled demijohn placed on a table. When the water reached the centre of the loop, the open end of the tube was capped with a thumb. The end of the tube in the demijohn was removed and the 50 mils of coloured salt water was introduced via the large syringe. The demijohn was then re-filled to the brim and the tube was re-submerged, making sure that no bubbles were introduced by adjusting the height of the unfilled side of the tube. By removing the thumb, the remaining length of tube was filled and again capped, making sure that no air was trapped inside the tube. At this point the demijohns were, refilled. The capped end of the tube was then inserted into the other water filled demijohn and both ends secured at an equal level, with cello-tape, again making sure that no air was allowed to enter the tube.

A length of the nylon cord equal to that of the length of tubing used was passed through the pulley, provided a safe ground level means to hoist the loop of tubing to the desired height. The pulley and the main nylon cord was hoisted to the desired height and secured at the top of the cliff on a separate length of cord. Adhesive cello-tape was wrapped heavily around the two sides of the loop of tubing 15cm from its centre to secure one knotted end of the main nylon cord, which ran through the pulley for the purpose of lifting the tube, taking care not to reduce the tubes diameter. The cello-tape was used to bind the cord to the tube.

Coloured insulation tape was used to secure both sides of the tube together providing an excellent ascent measurement when placed at one-metre intervals.

The Brixham Cliff Experiment

The centre of the tube was then gently hoisted, taking care to keep the ascent as smooth as possible. As the tube was raised the salt solution began to fall, due to the influence of gravity; this caused one of the demijohns to start overflowing indicating a positive pressure, while the second demijohn began to lose water at the same rate indicating a negative pressure. The emptying demijohn received frequent top ups, until the salt solution arrived at the overflowing demijohn and the flow stopped.

Conclusion

The fifty mils of salt solution caused the water in the tubes to circulate. The amount of water displaced and collected in the tray represents approximately the volume of water held in one side of the tube. Which meant that the fifty mils of salt solution had lifted water from one demijohn to the height of 24 metres and caused water many times its own weight and volume to rise. (I have used as little as 10 mils of coloured salt solution in the same experiment with a slower rate of decent but with similar displacements of water). Initially the experiments were tested at lower levels of elevation. 24 metres vertical lift was achieved when demonstrating the phenomenon before an audience of journalists and Forestry Commission scientists at the Overgang cliff, Brixham, July 1995.

Bench demonstration (pictured above)

For the purpose of demonstrating this phenomenon use a scaled down two metre high version of Fig 1. Substituting the demijohns for small narrow necked bottles. The type of tubing used to oxygenate aquariums is ideal for this purpose. A two-mil syringe minus needle, filled with coloured salt solution, connected to a T piece via a short length of tube, may be added close to the centre of the elevated tube to introduce salt solution intermittently while the tube is elevated, providing multiple demonstrations. Furthermore, the tube used in the salt free side of the experiment, (return side), may be of a larger bore size. Soft wall, silicon tubing shows visible signs of distortion when the saline solution is allowed to flow through it. The side containing the saline solution expands while the other side contracts, again indicating the presence of both positive and negative, pressures.

The experiments shown have been repeated using a variety of substitutes for salt solution, such as strong tea solution, fruit juices and milk etc. in order to relate directly to plants and animals. The flow rates achieved using different solutions, produced different rates of flow.

Umbrella Plant Experiment, (cyperus alternifolium)

Umbrella plant showing roots migrating through the stem by growing from leaves at the top of the plant In order to demonstrate that liquids of higher concentrations flow through plants in relation to the constant pull of gravity.

Take a freshly cut stem about 15cm long, with leaves intact, from an umbrella plant. Place the cutting upside down in a glass container of water. After several weeks the plant starts to grow roots from what was the top of the plant and new stems are produced with shoots growing vertically in the normal way. The liquid processes involved within the plant for both root and leaf production, must have travelled from one end of the cut stem to the other. Gravity therefore must be actively involved in sap flow.

Back to trees and the Brixham experiment, the negative pressure induced by the falling sal /salts observed in the nylon tubing and in the demijohn with the falling water level, provides us with a clear understanding of the mechanisms involved in drawing water through the roots from the soil and throughout the local soil water. The positive pressures caused by the weight of the column of water held in the tree, plus the additional influence of gravity acting on the concentrated solutions, induced by the loss of moisture at the leaf, provides the roots with sufficient power to penetrate the earth.

Explanation for fluid exuding from a cut stem.

To demonstrate this effect, fill a vertically held open ended u tube with water, Fig 2A, and add a little coloured concentrated salt solution to one side, Fig 2B, the level of the salt solution will drop causing the opposite side to overflow. Imagine the loop of tubing is one of many tubes in the stem of a freshly cut plant or tree with roots in the soil. The overflowing water represents the xylem sap rising under the influence of the positive pressure, generated by gravity acting upon the concentrated sap in the phloem tube.

This is an important observation that gives a clear understanding of why plants and trees continue to grow upwards.

Little or no cross contamination takes place between liquids in the clean-water-side and the coloured saline side of the tube. Fig 2 C, I have left this experiment suspended for five days and it appears to remain stable. Circulation within an enclosed system, Fig 3, eliminates siphon as an explanation, demonstrating that flow occurs inside and would continue to do so if the tube was pressurised.

The thin columns of water in trees are known to brake, making a cracking sound through a stethoscope. Cavitation occurs immediately the bead of water separates. The formation of gas at the uppermost part of the raised loop of tubing, Fig 1, caused both columns of water to fall towards the ground and form a new level of 33 feet. The space above the water columns is a vacuum.

The circulation in trees continues, despite continuous cavitations, which means that they are able to refill or repair the vacuum. The internal part of a tree is a network of veins, or tubes, most of which run vertically. However some tubes run at an angle and some horizontally and provide links to other tubes, which interconnect at random levels. The internal tubular parts of the tree are themselves captivated inside a large tube, which is of course the bark or outer skin.

Water columns within the internal tubes of a tree, are continually stressed under a negative pressure, caused by downward flowing concentrated solutions within the trunk and branches. Cavitation occurs because the long thin columns of water are pulled apart. Immediately the cavitation forms, the internal pressures of that tube switch from a negative pressure to a positive pressure, forcing the more dilute solution in the opposing side of adjoined tubes upwards, Fig 2.B. & Fig 2 C. The downward force causes an increase in the head of water at the top of the tube. It is this increase in the head of water that gives a tree both momentum and direction to follow in its cyclical growth. Furthermore an increase in the positive pressure above the cavitation refills and repairs the vacuum, therefore enabling the tree to continue with water transport, and allowing gas bubbles to percolate upwards and out through the leaves.

This ability of the tree to switch from positive pressure to negative pressure and visa-versa gives us an understanding of the pressures observed in the roots of the tree. The roots being able to drive down through the earth under a positive pressure and expanding forces yet are still able to suck in water under a negative pressure.

Safety

Students conducting any overhead experiments must observe the same hard hat safety regulations imposed on building workers.

Experiments involving tube elevations higher than classroom levels should always be supervised. The safest area for this kind of experiment to take place is on a spiral staircase. Cliff top experiments are dangerous.

A nylon line passed through a small pulley block, which has been secured at the desired height, enables the loop of tube to be elevated safely from ground level.

Boiling water is dangerous and should not be handled or moved until it has cooled sufficiently enough to prevent scalding.

END

A simple thought experiment

This thought experiment is designed to clarify the direction and momentum of fluids as they are pulled and pushed through the body by the magnetic or attractive force of gravity.

Red represents both high levels of oxygen and concentrated solutions caused by the loss of moisture during the evaporative processes which occur in bodily functions. The alterations in specific gravity which occur in the fluids close to the surface lining of the lungs, respiratory tract and skin, could well be responsible for providing the dissolved oxygen, which we require, with sufficient force to enter the circulatory system.

Blue represents both low oxygen and a reduction in specific gravity, due to the loss of spent salts in the excreted urine, which is shown as yellow in the drawing. The increase in more dilute fluids from the stomach and intestines, is also anaerobic (containing no oxygen) producing methane as a by-product. Therefore the liquids entering the system from our diet would contain no oxygen, which would undoubtedly cause any blood which passes through to show a significant reduction in oxygen.

Now apply the principles of pressures generated by the tiny pulses of concentrated solutions as they travel through the various tubes of the thought diagram. Personally I find that this simple drawing helps to keep my mind focused sharply on the holistic processes involved in all living things, be they plants or people. Strangely enough there is a similar drawing in most physiology books, which shows the direction of the circulatory system. Judge for yourself by looking at both drawings which way the fluid’s flow and how they are driven. As I have said earlier the only way to gain a good understanding of science is to form your own opinions, based on all the evidence you can lay your hands on. If for instance you see an experiment in a paper or a textbook, including this one, providing the experiment is not going to cost you a fortune, set it up. But then you must also try to find an alternative explanation for the processes that you witness.

Urine for instance was used to determine whether fluid transport could be taking place in humans and animals, In a similar process. For example respiration causes water to evaporate from the lungs and respiratory tract. Fluids remaining in the body contain minerals and must therefore be concentrated. Gravity causes the heavy solution to be drawn back through the lining of the lungs and respiratory tract and down through the vessels in the body, carrying dissolved oxygen with it.

Concentrated solutions arrive at the bladder via the kidneys where they are excreted in the urine. However the kidneys are not 100% efficient and some minerals arrive in the lowest anatomical extremities, solidifying as finger and toenails or horses hooves etc. Clippings of which sink when dropped into water.

It's simple! Raise the head end of your bed by 6 Inches (15cm) or more depending on your bed size and reap the rewards of health and improved circulation.

It costs nothing but a couple of books or bricks. That's right. Perhaps a few pieces of wood, or Furniture raisers to take advantage of Gravity and it's role in circulation.

Some observed results:

Improved Circulation and health throughout, Diabetic sensitivity reduced, Return of Sensation to numbed areas, Psoriasis and skin inflammations drastically reduced, Varicose Veins disappearing, Improved recovery and defences to common bugs, virus and germs, Improved recovery from DOMS after a hard workout, huge improvements in people with Multiple Sclerosis Bed wetting stops, bladder and bowel control restored, people with Parkinson's Disease experienced huge improvements, people with spinal cord injuries have gained function and sensation below the injury site. Sleep apnoea greatly improved and vanished in some cases. back ache gone, migraines a thing of the past, lethargy gone, muscular atrophy reversed, osteoporosis reversed, insomnia cured, night time visits to the toilet greatly improved, no more cold hands and feet in bed, tremors gone, but to name a few.... read the Testimonials to learn more and more things it is starting to affect?

Can it help you? It has helped us!

Nominate Andrew K Fletcher for TED

We have recently started a campaign to help Andrew, who has been researching IBT for more than 23 years, to raise awareness and reach out to more people with health problems and people who would like to avoid getting the health problems!

Andrew has advocated for 23 years that placing babies in an inclined cot would eliminate sudden infant death syndrome. Using a pair of dad's boxer shorts tied to the sides of a cot / crib and placing baby inside them would prevent slipping down during the night.

• Are you struggling to sleep on your flat bed?• Experiencing aches and pains in the night?• Stomach acid burning your insides?• Waking up feeling like you have been hit by a truck?• Noticing a decline in your health?• Fitness and performance could be better?• Eyes all puffed up when you look in the mirror?• Can’t get warm in bed?• Cold hands and feet?• Constantly waking to go to toilet?• Snoring loudly?• Sinuses blocked up?• Coughing at night?• Constipated?• Poor circulation?• Infertility issues?

Ever thought it might be your flat bed that is causing all of these problems and more?Inclined Bed Therapy is where a bed is raised at the head end to afford relief from all of the above.

Instead of looking for excuses for not trying this. Use whatever is available to you to tilt your bed. Use books, blocks, bricks or bed / furniture raisers to raise your bed at the head end. Use the IBT Bed Height Chart to determine the correct height for a 5 degree angle.

So today we are going to talk about the nitty gritty of Inclined Bed Therapy, which is not to be confused with an adjustable bed that keeps you pretty level with your lower body, but let’s you raise your upper body. Even those adjustable beds that let you raise your lower and upper body.

What we are talking about is getting you on a complete incline. So we are making this video because I keep going over all of this with all my patients and so hopefully this will answer every-bodies questions and really drive home the importance of inclining your bed. Inclining your bed, we are talking about raising the head end of your bed about six inches so that you have a five degree incline. Why is that important?

That is the degree, the five degree incline. That’s the number, five degrees that allows your body to continue to circulate fluids, blood, plasma, gasses. Anything in your digestive tract, while your sleeping.

And this was proven by an engineer in England, who just looked at a tree one day and realised how fluids and nutrients get from the roots up to the leaves. He figured this out, did an experiment where he proved that it’s the fluid that come up to the lungs that we breath out carbon dioxide and water as moisture and that changes the density of the fluids so that they circulate.

Trees do the same things. The leaves of the tree are the lungs, so that the moisture comes off, just like the moisture comes out of our lungs, so that denser nutrient filled plasma or fluid goes down and then comes back up.

So, the single greatest thing that I have done for my health is inclined my bed six inches, raising it up six inches to get a five degree tilt.

Nothing I have done has made a bigger impact on my health than this.

Now you know, you talk about body hacks, everyone is talking about body hacks, hacking the body these days. This is the greatest hack of all.

You don’t have to do anything except sleep and watch out for the benefits.

Though when I was learning about this, the engineer in England said that he is treating some really serious diseases with this simple hack. And I couldn’t believe it and he was talking about helping people with multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's and end stage aids patients who have horrible problems with diarrhoea, which is what usually kills them. And he was talking about these end stage aids patients actually stopping the diarrhoea by inclining their beds.

So these were fantastic claims and I couldn’t believe it so I Said, I’m going to try it and my Wife and I tried it together and it’s undeniably helping us.

“How much does it cost?” It costs like literally nothing, like and bed raisers are like 10 to fifteen bucks on Amazon. And I spent something like 25 dollars on some bed raisers because they can hold extra weight and they don’t break down after a couple of months like some of the cheap ones do. But this costs literally nothing, it’s so easy to do and the health benefits are mind boggling.

Your digestion will improve, Your assimilation so your digestion is the break down of food, your assimilation is the body’s uptake of those nutrients and the elimination is your body getting rid of those. All three of those processes are radically turbocharged by simply elevating the head of your bed.

And of course this was discovered when they entered the Pharaohs sleeping chambers. The pharaoh thousands of years ago slept on an inclined bed and it’s also in the hieroglyphs in the pyramids and when they saw the person on an incline, they knew the person was sleeping and when they were flat, they were dead.

“oh-- look at that well look to see if anyone that raises their bed and hear what they are experiencing”

Yes and if they have any questions, feel free to contact me and I hope that this has answered some of them. But the most important thing you can do for your health, the simplest thing you can do for your health is to get your bed raised up. Totally different than an adjustable bed right, we are inclining the whole bed and not just raising the head.

“ And if anyone has any hacks they want us to myth bust or prove, we will be happy to do that” Absolutely. “Just let us know in the comments, thanks guys”.

Doctor Richard Massey and Patrick Timpone from ORN, discussing the use of a pulse oximeter to confirm increased oxygen levels / sats increasing after raising his bed to a five degree head end up angle for just two weeks.

Discussion about the effects of gravity on circulation and how sleeping on an inclined bed raised to a five degree head end up angle positively alters a wide range of medical conditions, including erectile dysfunction, infertility, sciatica, fibromyalgia.Andrew explains how gravity is not a forse we struggle against, but a force that helps to drive our circulation. This changes everything we thought we knew about human physiology, especially when we are sleeping.Inclined Bed Therapy is taking off around the World.

In plants, the interplay between gravity and varying density of fluids is what causes the sap to circulate up and down in a perpetual loop. The same mechanism appears to apply to human biology as well, which is the basis for inclined bed therapy

Sleeping on an incline affects intracranial pressure. Research by a medical anthropologist showed people with migraines were able to eliminate their migraines within a short period of time by sleeping with their heads raised

Archeological evidence suggests some Egyptians slept on inclined beds, and the head on these beds was 6 inches higher than the foot end

By Dr. Mercola

Oftentimes the simplest strategies pay great dividends. Getting sensible sun exposure and grounding to the Earth are two examples. Sleeping on an incline is another. While few have heard of it, and sleeping on a horizontal surface is a well-established norm, raising the head of your bed 6 to 8 inches so that you're sleeping on a 5-degree incline may have a number of benefits, including:

Inclined bed therapy was developed two decades ago by Andrew K. Fletcher,1 a British mechanical engineer said to have "an avid interest in how things work."2 He stumbled upon the theory by studying the circulatory system of plants. In trees, gravity pulls the denser sap from the top of the tree downward, which then forces the more diluted sap at the bottom to rise upward.

In other words, the interplay between gravity and the varying density of fluids is what causes the sap, which delivers nutrients within the tree, to circulate up and down in a perpetual loop.

He wondered if the same mechanism applied to the human body, and experimentation and further research convinced him that it does. In the video above,3 Fletcher performs a simple kitchen demonstration to show how circulation is caused by density changes in fluids. In private correspondence with Nexus Magazine writer Jenny Hawke, Fletcher explained:4

"[C]irculation began long before the heart developed, and this primary circulation continues to assist the heart, providing we take the direction of gravity into account. It works on the principle that blood entering the capillary vessels in the lungs provides the water and carbon dioxide that we evaporate with each breath.

The blood therefore must become denser exiting the lungs, then passes through the heart and is injected back into the main artery, effectively adding denser blood to create a pulsatile flow predominantly down towards the kidneys... [T]he blood entering the venous return from the kidneys is always less dense than the arterial blood flowing to the kidneys. This was a Eureka moment of such magnitude it went off the scale for me and instantly gave birth to Inclined Bed Therapy."

Proper Incline Position

Similar experimentation was used to determine the ideal incline, which he concluded was about 6 inches, or 5 degrees. In one experiment, varicose veins disappeared after four weeks of sleeping on a 6-inch incline, which he took as a sign that "a positive change in circulation" had been achieved. Interestingly, archeological evidence suggests some Egyptians slept on inclined beds,5 and a Boston Museum curator confirmed that the incline on one of these historical beds was in fact 6 inches.

Now, it's important to note that sleeping on an incline is not the same as sleeping on an adjustable bed that allows you to raise the head while the lower portion remains horizontal. Fletcher stresses the importance of lying straight, but on an incline. You're not looking to sleep in a sitting position where only your torso is lifted.

The alignment of your body is important, as you want your blood to circulate freely throughout your whole body and avoid stress on your hip joint. On his website, InclinedBedTherapy.com, Fletcher lists a number of methods for creating an inclined bed.6 For example, you can build your own wooden bed frame, or use leg risers or full-length foam wedges.

Inclined Bed Therapy for Diabetes

As you can see by the list above, people who have tried inclined bed therapy have reported improvements in a wide array of health problems. When you consider the importance of blood circulation for the healing and regeneration of your body, this isn't entirely surprising. In her Nexus Magazine article, Hawke recounts a number of different tests and anecdotal evidence supporting the use of inclined bed therapy for conditions as varied as skin disorders and spinal cord injuries.

In a Micronesian study,7 inclined bed therapy was evaluated to see if it might benefit people with diabetes. In conclusion, the researchers stated that:

"[S]leeping on an inclined bed seems to help efficacy in reducing blood sugar levels with those who were dedicated in controlling their blood sugar levels. Inclined bed therapy may not be effective alone … [T]o be successful … it is recommended that diabetic individuals need to incorporate sleeping on inclined beds with medication, taking some alternative remedies and changing lifestyles by eating a proper diet and doing enough exercise …

Interestingly, all participants listed other problems including: back pain, edema, difficulty sleeping, frequent night urination, snoring, morning light-headedness and pain in joints. All participants claimed to have noticed improvement in all these problems."

Acid Reflux? Consider Raising the Head of Your Bed

Acid reflux is another extremely common health problem that may be improved through inclined bed therapy. Another term used for this condition is gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. Two of the most common causes of acid reflux are having insufficient amounts of stomach acid and/or having a hiatal hernia — a condition in which a portion of your stomach passes through an opening in your diaphragm, which can cause complications in your esophagus.

It can also lead to GERD, a condition in which acid is coming out of your stomach, where it's supposed to be. There's a valve between your stomach and your small intestine called the pyloric valve. When the acid in your stomach refluxes over that valve, it causes symptoms that are very similar to that of acid reflux, heartburn being one of the primary ones. Heartburn is a burning sensation that radiates up from your stomach to your chest and throat.

It occurs when food and stomach juices reflux up into your esophagus, which is the tube that leads from your throat to your stomach. It's typically most bothersome at night, and tends to occur in connection with certain activities, such as eating a heavy meal, bending over or lifting a heavy object and lying down, especially when laying on your back. While inclined bed therapy will not cure acid reflux, it may reduce the pain associated with lying down.

Success Stories

Among the success stories included in Hawke's article is a man who, due to a spinal cord injury, had lost all control over his legs. After incorporating inclined bed therapy with his other treatments, he was eventually able to walk between parallel bars. Other success stories include a young girl with cerebral palsy was also able to stand up for the first time after she'd used inclined bed therapy for eight months, and Terri, a woman with multiple sclerosis, who eventually improved to the point that she no longer needed drug therapy.

Hawke writes, "In a 2015 radio interview, Terri reported that her neurologist had recently told her she would have no need for any further appointments as she was better. He had never seen anyone in this situation get better." Interestingly, inclined bed therapy has even benefited people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. In the case of the latter, the woman reported "instant relief" after the first night.

According to Fletcher, results seem to suggest sleeping on an incline helps boost both metabolism and immune function, which could help explain some of these success stories. Sleeping on an incline also affects intracranial pressure. This was the conclusion of research done by medical anthropologist Sydney Singer. Hawke writes:8

"His research is based on a 10- to 30-degree elevation of the head, not the whole body, and some impressive results were found regarding the effects of inclined sleeping on intracranial pressure, in particular research into sleep positions as a possible cause of migraines.

'To our amazement, we found that the majority of the migraineurs in our study experienced relief by this simple sleep position change! Many had no new migraines, after being migraine sufferers for 30 or more years! The results were very fast, within a few days. And there were very interesting side effects, too. Our volunteers woke up more alert. Morning sinus congestion was significantly reduced in most people. Some reported that they no longer had certain allergies.'"

Potential Brain Benefits

According to Singer, sleeping on an incline may also benefit other brain conditions, including ADHD and Alzheimer's. Indeed, while not mentioned, it's possible by altering the intracranial pressure you allow for improved glymphatic drainage. It was long believed that the brain was unable to clean itself out, as the lymphatic system does not include the brain.

More recent research has proven this to be incorrect, showing the brain actually has its own lymphatic system that gets into your brain by piggybacking on blood vessels. Amyloid beta deposits and other toxins are cleaned out of your brain nightly during deep sleep. This waste-removal system is now known as the glymphatic system.

By pumping cerebral spinal fluid through your brain's tissues, your glymphatic system flushes waste from your brain back into your circulatory system and onto your liver for elimination. Just about anything that hampers the efficient function of your glymphatic systemwill promote Alzheimer's, by allowing waste to accumulate in your brain, and it stands to reason that improving this brain detoxification would help prevent Alzheimer's and other neurological dysfunction as well.

Are You Ready to Try Sleeping on an Incline?

In addition to sleeping on my back with a pillow to support my neck (opposed to my entire head), as recommended by chiropractor and exercise physiologist Dr. Peter Martone, I also changed my bedframe to one that allowed me to elevate the head of my bed to achieve a 5-degree incline. While I have no health problems that would call for this, I find it helps improve my sleep.

When you first start out, you may want to ease into it by raising the head of your bed just 3 inches. Once you're used to that, raise it to the recommended 6 inches. Going up to 8 inches, which is the maximum recommended elevation, can be tricky, as you'll start sliding quite a bit. Also, be aware that in some cases you may experience muscle soreness and/or a stiff neck for the first week or two until your body has adjusted to the new position.

Fletcher also recommends drinking more water than usual, as the elevation will decrease fluid retention and enhance urination. This also means your body's waste removal will be enhanced, so more water is needed to help flush out toxins. Overall, I believe inclined bed therapy can be of all-around benefit for your health and is well worth a try.

Dr J.P. Torre is conducting an Independent Review of Inclined Bed Therapy. He is asking for people to join his online study. Please Help by sharing your IBT experience with him.

This is very exciting and a long awaited breakthrough.

"- There are convincing facts about IBT including NASA research and it is certainly intriguing that ancient Egyptians slept inclined.

- There are numerous reports that Inclined sleeping has resulted in health and well being improvements.

- It is important to explore ideas that come from outside the direct medical or pharmaceutical community.

- Raising the head of a bed can be easily done for free.

- If IBT theory is correct the impact on health care spending could be substantial."

Dr Torre wants to include data from people already using IBT.

Here is your chance to help him understand more about how IBT has affected you. He does not need your personal details if you wish to remain anonymous.

​

When IBT theory is proven independently by a Doctor, it would undoubtedly provide a simple cost effective way to treat or prevent many serious conditions that today can only be treated with drugs. Health Services Finances, currently directed on drug based treatments, could be redirected towards research, to improve public health.

In order to prove IBT theory more studies and data is urgently required and this is an opportunity to do just that!

​

We hope you are interested in assisting in data gathering to support either the validation or invalidation of IBT,

The More people that are participating, the stronger the conclusions of the study will be !"

You don't have to be sick to join either, Dr Torre is researching a wide range of physiological changes and is interesting in seeking solutions to help prevent medical conditions and boosting your health and fitness also.

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S y n o p s i s This is probably one of the most important interviews you will hear in a long time dealing with health benefits. You have heard me say that oftentimes the simplest strategies pay great dividends. Getting sensible sun exposure and grounding to the earth are two examples.

But what if I told you that sleeping on an incline is another? Have you ever wondered who told us that laying flat is the correct way to sleep? Who decided this was correct and why are we accepting this unqualified flat bed wisdom?

I've never though about it before. Have you? I sleep flat because my parents slept and their parents before them I guess. While few have heard of it, and sleeping on a horizontal surface is a well-established norm, raising the head of your bed 6 to 8 inches so that you're sleeping on a 5-degree incline may have a number of benefits, including:

In reference to the image above: Inclined Bed of Queen Hetepheres I (2575-2528 B.C) : the queen would have slept on her side with her cheek resting on the headrest. A foot-rest, decorated with a gold and faience design of stylized plant motifs, both served as decoration and prevented her from slipping down (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).

The constant force of gravity has played a central part in the evolution of life on earth and is a major component of our physical environment. Man was designed or has evolved to function in the upright position in the earth gravitational environment. Microgravity induces a vast array of changes in our organism:

Read On To Learn How To Improve Your Sleep!

Your top product for improving sleep? Inclined Bed / Furniture Risers, Books, Bricks, Wooden Blocks used to raise the head end of a bed. You can read more about this HERE and how high to raise a bed depending upon bed length HERE.

Avoid memory foam mattresses. Best mattress is a natural fibre spring type. Use only one pillow. Memory foam causes us to overheat and sweat, it also dips under our weight and causes back ache and pain. Rotate your posture during the night and best to sleep without underwear, due to it riding up while sleeping inclined. Avoid sleeping with hands near pillow as this will cause numbness as it compromises circulation, which validates IBT theory Use cotton sheets. Wrap a duvet or blanket around your mattress to prevent slipping down. Not a problem for most, but some do take time to settle in. Keep a journal to note all changes, to help understand what is happening with sleeping inclined and please help Dr J.P Torre at Join Dr Torre's Inclined Bed Therapy Survey Who is conducting an independent analysis of the many effects reported from people with or without health issues and sleeping inclined. Inclined Bed Therapy increases fertility and has been shown to correct erectile dysfunction. Be warned unless your planning for a baby. IBT - Drug requirements can change, especially in Diabetes and Parkinson's so please monitor for changes. IBT - Blood pressure has been shown to move in both directions, so please monitor for changes.